Monthly Archives: February 2013

Post navigation

For myself, when I found out I was pregnant with my little Magnolia, Mushroom was around ten months old. Too young for me to want to give up babywearing, but certainly things had to change in order for it to still be an enjoyable experience for both of us.

When you are babywearing while pregnant, it really is a different ball game, and it all depends on how you feel. Personally, I can’t handle anything touching my stomach early in the pregnancy, and then as I continue to get bigger, it wouldn’t make sense to have anything tied or buckled around my stomach area.

Mush was a big boy, and at ten months, I was only occasionally using a woven wrap (mostly because I didn’t have a lot of knowledge on how to wear him comfortably). Our go to carrier was a Beco 4G (an older model SSC). Anytime I wore Mush, I wore my SSC low on my hips, well under my bump. It was the most comfortable for me at the time, and it worked well for us up until about eight months along. At that point, I just stopped wearing because I was tired.

This time, I am pregnant with twins as a gestational surrogate, and it has been totally different. Magnolia prefers woven wraps and has a strong distaste for buckles, so we have been wrapping almost exclusively. I wear her very high on my back, to the point that she can usually rest her head on my shoulder to go to sleep, and I tie the wrap over the top of my increasingly large bump.

The same could be done with a Mei Tai. You could tie the waist straps either under your bump, or on top of, and the top straps could be tied Tibetan. I have seen people buckle an SSC over the top of their bump, and if it is comfortable for you, baby, and bump, then more power to you!

If you are using a ring sling, you can simply shift your little one over to your hip, provided they have good head control.

With a woven wrap, just like before pregnancy, you will have many more options, and can achieve a more custom fit. But really, any carrier can be used through pregnancy.

At the end of the day, in my experience, babywearing helped me to remain close to my little ones while pregnant, both in proximity and emotionally. I hope the same for you! Discuss it with your midwife or OB, listen to your body, and follow your instincts.